


It Still Stings

by IJM



Category: General Hospital
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-04
Updated: 2018-07-04
Packaged: 2019-06-05 06:14:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,310
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15164417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IJM/pseuds/IJM
Summary: Bobby tries to get his mother to help him.





	It Still Stings

**Author's Note:**

> Not for profit. No claim of ownership of characters.

”The _sting of never getting Betsy to believe you… You used to tell your mom all kinds of stories.”_

Words Jim Harvey said when Franco planted the listening device in his hotel room seem to interrupt his thoughts out of nowhere.

He was in his art therapy room passing some free time. He stopped working on what he had been drawing. He closed his eyes.

“He hurts me.” His breath caught and it felt like a lightning bolt struck when he remembered saying those words to his mother.

“How does the he hurt you?” she asked, but he could hear the doubt in her voice already.

“I don’t know,” Bobby said. He didn’t know the right words to explain.

“What does he do?”

Bobby felt like hiding. Uncle Jim said she would hate him if she ever found out. She had already sent Andy away. “He makes me…” Tears welled in his eyes. He didn’t know how to make her understand.

“What? Clean your room?” Betsy asked. It was as if she was oblivious or just refused to see.

“No – you – he – I don’t want him to live with us anymore.”

“Bobby, Jim is good to me and to you. We’re going to get married. He makes sure we’re taken care of. He loves you so much he brings you a toy practically every day when he gets home from work. Most little boys are not loved that much.”

Bobby swallowed the lump in his throat. “I don’t want any more toys. I want him to go away.”

“Bobby!” she scolded. “You must not say things like that. I need Jim. We both do.”

“You love him more than you love me!” Bobby yelled. He got up and threw his bowl of cereal across the kitchen. It shattered and milk and corn flakes landed all over the wall and floor.

“Look what you did!” Uncle Jim walked into the kitchen. “Look at that mess!”

Bobby stood by the table, silently crying, while Betsy rushed to clean up the mess.

“Don’t clean that for him,“ Jim ordered her. “This is your fault!” He moved toward Bobby. “You’re going to clean it up and you’re going to get punished.”

Bobby felt a gnawing feeling is in his stomach. Getting punished for being bad was even worse than getting a toy for being good.

He took the broom and dust pan from his mother and slowly, very slowly, started cleaning the mess. He hoped if he took a long time uncle Jim would go to work. 

“Stop dawdling!” Jim yelled. “Don’t make me take my belt to you.”

Bobby cringed, but sped up his work. He could hear Jim and his mother talking.

“That boy is trouble,” Jim told her. “He just doesn’t know how to act like he should. You’ve been to soft with him. He’s got to learn his lessons.”

“He’s just a little boy,” Betsy said.

“He’s big enough.”

Bobby got paper towels to wipe the milk off the wall.

“Look at that. He can’t do anything right,” Jim criticized. “You clean it up and I’ll take him upstairs and give him a lesson on being good.”

Betsy sighed, “Bobby, go upstairs with your Uncle Jim.”

 _No. No. No,_ he thought. She was sending him upstairs for Uncle Jim to hurt him again.

“I’ll be good – “ he started.

”Keep your mouth shut. I don’t want to hear another word from you for the rest of the day.”

Bobby knew what that meant. It was a Quiet Day. He could not make a sound, no matter what Uncle Jim did. If he cried or said anything, Uncle Jim would punish him which meant he would hurt someone or something he loved.

“Do you understand me?” Jim asked.

Bobby nodded.

“You have to spend the rest of the day in your room. No lunch. No supper, since you didn’t appreciate your breakfast.”

Bobby nodded again. Uncle Jim headed to the stairs. He knew he had to follow.

”I may be a while,” Jim told Betsy. “He’s going to get a good, long talking to.”

Bobby was already crying when he got to his bedroom. Uncle Jim closed and locked the door. When Bobby heard the clicking sound of the door lock, he knew there was no way out.

“You know what happens to you when you’re bad,” Jim stated. “You have to learn to obey.”

Bobby nodded. Even though he knew what to expect, it did not make it less terrifying.

“Go ahead,” Jim said, looking to the unmade bed.

Bobby stood by the bed. He began to undress himself. Tears came in streams, and he felt so ashamed, but he dare not make a sound.

Once he was completely naked, Jim smiled. “What do you have to do now? Prove to me that you’re a good boy.”

Bobby wanted to throw up already. But it was a Quiet Day. Uncle Jim sat on the bed and patted it – twice. “Come on,” he said.

With shaking hands, he reached out to uncle Jim and started to unbutton his shirt.  _This is wrong!_ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~his mind screamed. But he didn’t have a choice.

“I’ll help,” Jim told him and he undressed himself. He was getting impatient.

Bobby stood by the bed, looking down, looking anywhere other than at that – that thing.

“On your knees,” Jim ordered. His voice was cold, demanding.

Bobby hated the way the cold floor felt, but not as much as he hated having to do what he had to do.

“Franco? Franco?” He was startled by the hand on his shoulder.

“What’s going on?” Drew asked. He had come to talk about a bachelor party, but found Franco sketching frantically while crying.

He picked up the drawing that Franco had absently been working on. It was wet with tears.

Drew was sickened by what he saw — an anatomically correct man’s body with a demonic looking face that bore a strong resemblance to Jim Harvey.

“Are you OK?” Drew asked, holding the picture. He was certain that no client should ever see it. “Did you realize what you were drawing?”

“Drawing?” Franco asked. “I wasn’t drawing.”

“Yes you were,” Drew turned the sketch around so Franco could see it.

Franco reached for it, wanting to destroy it forever.

Drew held it back, refusing to let him take it. “I think you have to show this to Dr. Collins as soon as possible.”

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Franco argued.

“I know that’s not true.”

“I’m not a liar!” 

Drew easily recalled the way Franco had had a meltdown,  insisting he was not a liar, when Jim Harvey triggered him in the hotel room. “It’s okay.” He tried to  help Franco calm down. 

“You left me!” Franco accused Drew. “You said you would be my best friend forever. But you lied. You went away. I never got to see you again.”

“I’m here now,” Drew said. “We found each other again. It just took a long time. I didn’t want to leave.” 

“He’s a bad man.” Franco put his head down on the table. “He’s a bad man. He hurt me.” 

Drew put his hand on Franco’s back. “I know he did.” 

Franco looked up at Drew. “I have to make it stop. I want to marry Elizabeth. She’s going to think I lied. I didn’t lie.”

”Nothing is going to stop Elizabeth from marrying you. She loves you. Dr. Collins said you might remember more things as time went by. You couldn’t handle all those memories at one time. No one could. Come on, let’s go see if he’s in his office.” 

Drew picked up a file folder and stuck the drawing inside. He definitely didn’t want anyone to catch a glimpse of it. He walked with Franco to Kevin’s office. “Don’t worry, Franco. I’ve got your back from now on.” 

 

End.

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